July 26, 2020, Port Hadlock, WA. Combined efforts of The Community Wellness Project, The Jefferson Community Foundation, and The Irondale Church have resulted in the installation of a Little Free Pantry, providing free food resources for those who need them in the local area, available 24/7. The Little Free Pantry Movement’s motto is, “Give what you can. Take what you need.”
The Community Wellness Project (CWP), based in Chimacum, has been working since 2007 to build food resilience in the county through various avenues, including the support of local school gardens and food service. According to board member Abby Jorgensen, “The Little Free Pantry movement is something we saw modeled at the Dove House in Port Townsend. It activates neighbors to support neighbors, as one solution to immediate and local need. Especially now, with all of the added insecurity, we decided to pursue construction and installation of several pantries in other parts of the community.”
To fund the pantries, CWP applied to Jefferson Community Foundation’s Jefferson County Covid-19 Response Fund, a weekly grant program dedicated to organizations that are working to meet immediate needs as well as long term recovery efforts during the pandemic. $542,000 has been raised and distributed in the county by JCF since March 27th. Other funds have supported housing, mental health, education, child care, etc.
“We were grateful when Pastor Jeremy Botkin and the congregation of the Irondale Church expressed an interest in housing the first Little Free Pantry in their church parking lot. It’s a great location, easy to access and on a site already known for providing the Community Soup Project,” explained Jorgensen. “Volunteers are signing up to ‘adopt’ the pantry for a month at a time; businesses, service organizations, other churches, and groups of friends. We’re also looking for a home for the second pantry currently under construction.”
This project joins with the larger work that CWP is doing in the area to increase food access, equity and resilience such as school garden development, community connected youth enterprise (Chimacum High School Food Truck), and Neighbor Loaves Community Bread Project.
To get involved with the project in any way, contact us here: pantry(at)jccwp.org